<s>
The	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
is	O
a	O
line	O
of	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
in	O
Compaq	O
's	O
Deskpro	B-Device
range	O
of	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
compatibles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computers	O
feature	O
Intel	O
's	O
32-bit	O
80386	B-General_Concept
microprocessor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Introduced	O
in	O
September	O
1986	O
,	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
is	O
the	O
first	O
implementation	O
of	O
the	O
80386	B-General_Concept
processor	O
in	O
a	O
computer	O
system	O
for	O
sale	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
marks	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
that	O
a	O
major	O
component	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
Personal	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
de	O
facto	O
standard	O
was	O
updated	O
by	O
a	O
company	O
other	O
than	O
IBM	O
themselves	O
—	O
in	O
this	O
case	O
,	O
upgrading	O
from	O
the	O
80286	B-General_Concept
processor	O
of	O
the	O
Personal	B-Operating_System
Computer/AT	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
were	O
developed	O
by	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
250	O
people	O
,	O
led	O
by	O
Gary	O
Stimac	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compaq	O
continued	O
releasing	O
updated	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
as	O
newer	O
revisions	O
of	O
the	O
386	B-General_Concept
chip	O
were	O
introduced	O
by	O
Intel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Deskpro	B-Device
is	O
a	O
line	O
of	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
compatible	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
line	O
features	O
the	O
Industry	B-Architecture
Standard	I-Architecture
Architecture	I-Architecture
(	O
ISA	B-Architecture
)	O
bus	B-General_Concept
identical	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
Personal	I-Operating_System
Computer/AT	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
Personal	B-Operating_System
Computer/AT	I-Operating_System
has	O
an	O
16-bit	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
80286	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	O
,	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
features	O
Intel	O
's	O
then-cutting-edge	O
32-bit	O
80386	B-General_Concept
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
three	O
models	O
in	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
line	O
—	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
Model	O
40	O
,	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
Model	O
70	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
Model	O
130	O
—	O
differ	O
only	O
in	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
storage	O
in	O
the	O
included	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
and	O
in	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
ISA	B-Architecture
expansion	O
slots	O
on	O
their	O
motherboards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
models	O
otherwise	O
all	O
come	O
with	O
at	O
least	O
1MiB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
a	O
16-MHz	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
80386	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Model	O
40	O
is	O
equipped	O
with	O
a	O
40MB	O
ESDI	B-Architecture
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
and	O
features	O
six	O
ISA	B-Architecture
expansion	O
slots	O
—	O
three	O
eight-bit	O
slots	O
and	O
three	O
sixteen-bit	O
slots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Models	O
70	O
and	O
130	O
are	O
equipped	O
with	O
70MB	O
and	O
130MB	O
ESDI	B-Architecture
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
respectively	O
;	O
both	O
feature	O
five	O
expansion	O
slots	O
—	O
three	O
eight-bit	O
slots	O
and	O
two	O
sixteen-bit	O
slots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Externally	O
,	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
's	O
case	O
is	O
identical	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
its	O
predecessors	O
,	O
the	O
original	O
8088-equipped	O
Deskpro	B-Device
and	O
the	O
80286-equipped	O
Deskpro	B-Device
286	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
model	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
features	O
four	O
5.25-inch	O
half-height	O
drive	O
bays	O
,	O
and	O
all	O
models	O
are	O
equipped	O
stock	O
with	O
one	O
1.2-MB	O
5.25-inch	O
floppy	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
in	O
the	O
Models	O
40	O
and	O
70	O
are	O
half-height	O
units	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
Model	O
130	O
's	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
is	O
a	O
full-height	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
of	O
integrating	O
memory	O
on	O
the	O
motherboards	O
,	O
Compaq	O
put	O
the	O
RAM	B-Architecture
chips	I-Architecture
on	O
a	O
daughtercard	O
that	O
plugs	O
into	O
a	O
32-bit	O
bus	B-General_Concept
slot	O
on	O
the	O
motherboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
slot	O
is	O
bespoke	O
to	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
and	O
allows	O
the	O
transfer	O
of	O
information	O
to	O
and	O
from	O
the	O
bus	B-General_Concept
in	O
32-bit	O
words	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
the	O
initial	O
models	O
,	O
the	O
daughtercard	O
carries	O
1MiB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
stock	O
,	O
able	O
to	O
take	O
up	O
to	O
2MiB	O
(	O
half	O
of	O
its	O
RAM	B-Architecture
sockets	O
are	O
unpopulated	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
daughtercard	O
itself	O
contains	O
a	O
slot	O
that	O
can	O
hold	O
a	O
special	O
"	O
piggyback	O
"	O
card	O
that	O
carries	O
4MiB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
stock	O
,	O
upgradable	O
up	O
to	O
8MiB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
highest	O
amount	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
that	O
Compaq	O
offered	O
in	O
this	O
daughtercard-and-piggyback-card	O
arrangement	O
on	O
the	O
initial	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
was	O
10MiB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
RAM	B-Architecture
may	O
be	O
installed	O
as	O
upgrade	O
cards	O
in	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
sixteen-bit	O
ISA	B-Architecture
expansion	O
slots	O
—	O
with	O
the	O
understanding	O
that	O
this	O
imposes	O
a	O
speed	O
bottleneck	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
ISA	B-Architecture
's	O
16-bit	O
data	O
path	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
was	O
developed	O
in	O
large	O
part	O
by	O
Gary	O
Stimac	O
,	O
Compaq	O
's	O
vice	O
president	O
of	O
engineering	O
and	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
fifth	O
employee	O
hired	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
was	O
a	O
close	O
collaboration	O
between	O
Compaq	O
,	O
Intel	O
,	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
who	O
each	O
signed	O
a	O
three-way	O
non-disclosure	O
agreement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
project	O
officially	O
commenced	O
in	O
March	O
1985	O
,	O
after	O
Intel	O
shared	O
Compaq	O
the	O
first	O
block	B-Application
diagram	I-Application
for	O
the	O
80386	B-General_Concept
processor	O
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stimac	O
described	O
this	O
diagram	O
as	O
a	O
listing	O
of	O
the	O
386	B-General_Concept
's	O
new	O
and	O
upgraded	O
features	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
schedule	O
of	O
milestones	O
for	O
its	O
development	O
and	O
eventual	O
production	O
runs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
1985	O
,	O
Intel	O
delivered	O
to	O
Compaq	O
detailed	O
specifications	O
of	O
the	O
386	B-General_Concept
,	O
after	O
which	O
Compaq	O
laid	O
out	O
a	O
block	B-Application
diagram	I-Application
of	O
future	O
product	O
lines	O
to	O
integrate	O
the	O
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
was	O
brought	O
on	O
board	O
as	O
a	O
consultant	O
for	O
potential	O
software	O
compatibility	O
issues	O
with	O
the	O
plethora	O
of	O
MS-DOS-based	O
software	O
on	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
well	O
,	O
Compaq	O
asked	O
Microsoft	O
what	O
other	O
operating	O
systems	O
they	O
could	O
provide	O
that	O
had	O
better	O
32-bit	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
386	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
's	O
release	O
,	O
the	O
most	O
advanced	O
operating	O
system	O
that	O
Microsoft	O
offered	O
was	O
Xenix	O
System	O
V/286	O
,	O
which	O
Compaq	O
offered	O
as	O
an	O
optional	O
pack-in	O
for	O
selecting	O
buyers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
32-bit	O
version	O
for	O
the	O
386	B-General_Concept
was	O
promised	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
quarter	O
of	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
had	O
the	O
full	O
support	O
of	O
Bill	O
Gates	O
,	O
chairman	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
big	O
milestone	O
[	O
in	O
the	O
history	O
of	O
the	O
personal	O
computer	O
industry ]	O
was	O
that	O
the	O
folks	O
at	O
IBM	O
did	O
n't	O
trust	O
the	O
386	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
we	O
encouraged	O
Compaq	O
to	O
go	O
ahead	O
and	O
just	O
do	O
a	O
386	B-General_Concept
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
prototypes	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
featured	O
were	O
designed	O
around	O
the	O
12-MHz	O
clock	O
speed	O
of	O
the	O
earliest	O
production	O
batches	O
of	O
the	O
80386	B-General_Concept
and	O
so	O
featured	O
a	O
6-MHz	O
bus	B-General_Concept
clock	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
time	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
came	O
out	O
,	O
yields	O
of	O
16-MHz	O
386	B-General_Concept
's	O
had	O
reached	O
acceptable	O
numbers	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
the	O
bus	B-General_Concept
clock	O
was	O
upgraded	O
to	O
8MHz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Regarding	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
four	O
different	O
paths	O
were	O
taken	O
by	O
Stimac	O
's	O
team	O
to	O
determine	O
the	O
best	O
memory	O
configuration	O
for	O
both	O
performance	O
and	O
cost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
static-column	O
DRAM	O
design	O
was	O
chosen	O
as	O
the	O
winner	O
,	O
against	O
pure	O
page	O
mode	O
DRAM	O
,	O
traditional	O
asynchronous	O
DRAM	O
,	O
and	O
DRAM	O
backed	O
with	O
cache	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
mass	B-Device
storage	I-Device
front	O
,	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
was	O
considered	O
early	O
on	O
but	O
abandoned	O
due	O
to	O
a	O
performance	O
penalty	O
incurred	O
with	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
drive	B-General_Concept
controllers	I-General_Concept
over	O
the	O
ISA	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
found	O
a	O
vendor	O
of	O
ESDI	B-Architecture
drives	O
that	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
put	O
the	O
controller	O
hardware	O
onto	O
the	O
drive	O
itself	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
acceptable	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compaq	O
released	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
on	O
September	O
9	O
,	O
1986	O
,	O
concurrent	O
with	O
a	O
formal	O
announcement	O
at	O
a	O
gala	O
hosted	O
at	O
New	O
York	O
City	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
is	O
the	O
first	O
implementation	O
of	O
the	O
80386	B-General_Concept
processor	O
in	O
a	O
computer	O
system	O
for	O
sale	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Journalists	O
latched	O
onto	O
Compaq	O
's	O
status	O
as	O
a	O
compatible	O
maker	O
revising	O
a	O
major	O
component	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
Personal	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
de	O
facto	O
standard	O
,	O
with	O
InfoWorld	O
running	O
the	O
headline	O
on	O
the	O
cover	O
page	O
of	O
their	O
September	O
15	O
,	O
1986	O
,	O
issue	O
:	O
"	O
Compaq	O
Introduces	O
386	B-General_Concept
PC	O
,	O
Challenges	O
IBM	O
to	O
Match	O
It	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
article	O
,	O
Canion	O
was	O
quoted	O
warning	O
IBM	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
six	O
months	O
to	O
respond	O
with	O
a	O
386-based	O
machine	O
of	O
their	O
own	O
lest	O
they	O
lose	O
serious	O
market	O
share	O
,	O
while	O
also	O
attempting	O
to	O
quash	O
uncertainty	O
over	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
's	O
potential	O
incompatibilities	O
that	O
IBM	O
might	O
try	O
to	O
convey	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
eventually	O
released	O
their	O
first	O
386-based	O
PC	O
—	O
the	O
Personal	B-Device
System/2	I-Device
Model	I-Device
80	I-Device
—	O
in	O
August	O
1987	O
,	O
nearly	O
a	O
year	O
after	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
's	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
overall	O
sales	O
of	O
386-based	O
personal	O
computers	O
not	O
ramping	O
up	O
until	O
1989	O
,	O
Compaq	O
had	O
sold	O
25,000	O
units	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
by	O
February	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Journalist	O
Laton	O
McCartney	O
wrote	O
that	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
was	O
popular	O
among	O
corporate	O
executives	O
and	O
financial	O
analysts	O
who	O
needed	O
number-crunching	O
power	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
second	O
quarter	O
of	O
1987	O
,	O
Compaq	O
sold	O
another	O
90,000	O
units	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
,	O
according	O
to	O
a	O
technology	O
industry	O
analyst	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compaq	O
reported	O
selling	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
1987	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
1988	O
the	O
lineup	O
generated	O
the	O
most	O
revenue	O
out	O
of	O
any	O
Compaq	O
's	O
products	O
,	O
despite	O
the	O
older	O
Deskpro	B-Device
286	B-General_Concept
actually	O
outselling	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
in	O
terms	O
of	O
quantity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
was	O
warmly	O
received	O
by	O
the	O
technology	O
press	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
InfoWorld	O
,	O
Stephen	O
Satchell	O
called	O
it	O
the	O
"	O
hottest	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
compatible	O
now	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
is	O
twice	O
as	O
fast	O
as	O
any	O
AT-style	O
machine	O
we	O
've	O
tested	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
price	O
is	O
not	O
out	O
of	O
line	O
for	O
such	O
a	O
powerful	O
machine.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Bill	O
Howard	O
and	O
William	O
Wong	O
of	O
PC	O
Magazine	O
summarized	O
:	O
"	O
Well-built	O
and	O
exceptionally	O
PC	O
compatible	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
386-based	O
PC	O
is	O
a	O
screamer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tom	O
Hill	O
of	O
The	O
Ottawa	O
Citizen	O
wrote	O
that	O
the	O
result	O
of	O
its	O
increased	O
processing	O
speed	O
and	O
fast	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
"	O
is	O
a	O
high-quality	O
,	O
quiet-running	O
personal	O
computer	O
of	O
unmatched	O
performance	O
and	O
potential.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Writing	O
retrospectively	O
in	O
2006	O
,	O
PC	O
World	O
called	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
the	O
second	O
greatest	O
personal	O
computer	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
,	O
behind	O
the	O
original	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compaq	O
continued	O
releasing	O
updated	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
as	O
newer	O
revisions	O
of	O
the	O
386	B-General_Concept
chip	O
were	O
introduced	O
by	O
Intel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1987	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
released	O
the	O
Deskpro	O
386/20	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
20-MHz	O
386	B-General_Concept
and	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
microcomputers	O
to	O
use	O
that	O
revision	O
of	O
the	O
chip	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
fastest	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
compatible	O
that	O
InfoWorld	O
had	O
reviewed	O
up	O
to	O
that	O
point	O
,	O
in	O
November	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1988	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
released	O
the	O
Deskpro	O
386/25	O
and	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386S	I-Device
—	O
the	O
former	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
25-MHz	O
386	B-General_Concept
and	O
the	O
latter	O
based	O
on	O
Intel	O
's	O
lower-cost	O
386SX	O
chip	O
,	O
which	O
features	O
a	O
16-bit	O
data	B-General_Concept
bus	I-General_Concept
instead	O
of	O
a	O
32-bit	O
one	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latter	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
personal	O
computer	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
386SX	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
former	O
was	O
described	O
by	O
InfoWorld	O
as	O
outperforming	O
all	O
systems	O
reviewed	O
up	O
to	O
that	O
point	O
,	O
"	O
and	O
,	O
like	O
its	O
20-MHz	O
predecessor	O
,	O
set[ting]	O
a	O
new	O
performance	O
standard	O
for	O
386	B-General_Concept
computers	O
"	O
,	O
albeit	O
at	O
a	O
steep	O
price	O
of	O
US$	O
10,000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386s	I-Device
version	O
was	O
available	O
on	O
June	O
20th	O
of	O
1988	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
last	O
entries	O
in	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386	I-Device
line	O
is	O
the	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386n	O
and	O
Deskpro	B-Device
386s/20n	O
,	O
which	O
bear	O
smaller	O
,	O
thinner	O
cases	O
(	O
described	O
by	O
InfoWorld	O
as	O
"	O
trimline	O
"	O
)	O
and	O
386SX	O
processors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
Deskpros	B-Device
are	O
intended	O
for	O
local-area	O
networking	O
and	O
feature	O
fewer	O
expansion	O
slots	O
but	O
were	O
much	O
lower-cost	O
.	O
</s>
